


Meet Your Maker

by GriffinRose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Creepy, Gen, Horror, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Like mild horror, Monsters, again mild, jump scare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 08:25:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14492868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GriffinRose/pseuds/GriffinRose
Summary: “Guys, I’ve got blood over here,” Keith said. “No idea what caused it or where whoever was bleeding went.” It wasn’t really a lot of blood, so the person could have walked off and gotten help, or been evacuated with the rest of the missing crew.Why the crew would need to evacuate an otherwise perfectly functioning ship was a question Keith didn’t particularly want the answer to.AKA Keith is mauled by a creepy monster





	Meet Your Maker

“Why did we answer this distress call?” Lance complained. “This was such a waste of time.”

 

“Something activated it,” Shiro said.

 

“Yeah, faulty ship parts,” Pidge said.

 

It was a fair assumption, Keith thought. The ship they were on lacked any sentient life that they could tell. It looked like it had been dead in space for a while. But the signal had only activated when they passed by the next galaxy over, and Allura had been all “We save everyone who needs it” and so here they were.

 

And because that hadn’t been a stupid enough decision, they’d split up to search for whoever was still alive on this ship.

 

“We don’t know that,” Shiro said calmly. “If someone is still alive, we can’t leave them for dead.”

 

“If someone were still alive, don’t you think they would have greeted us or sent some message like ‘I’m on the bridge’ or something?” Hunk asked.

 

“They might not be able to,” Shiro said.

 

“Okay, but next time we board an abandoned ship, let’s not split up. This is seriously freaky,” Lance said.

 

Hell must have frozen over, because Keith agreed with Lance. With how spread out they were, the ship was eerily quiet. Most systems were offline, so the typical humming always present on ships was nonexistent. Only the backup lights were on, a dim green color.

 

Yeah, it wasn’t winning any ‘Favorite places to be’ awards.

 

“It’s way freaky. Wait, when was the last time Keith said anything? Oh no it’s already got Keith!” Hunk yelled.

 

“I’m right here,” Keith said. “And what, exactly, do you think would have gotten me?” He opened a door and peered inside. Nothing but an empty barrack.

 

“Dude, I don’t know. Whatever set off the distress signal, probably.”

 

“Are you implying the beacon was a trap?” Pidge asked.

 

The fact that it wouldn’t be the first or even tenth time that it happened was really sad, in Keith’s opinion. They fell for these damn beacons like moths to a flame.

 

He checked the next room. Another empty barrack. He was about to turn away when something caught his eye, a splash of purple on the far wall. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, lifting up his wrist gauntlet to scan it. It almost looked like paint, but he had a terrible suspicion the streaks of purple were not that innocent.

 

“If this was a trap, what else do we need to do to spring it?” Lance asked. “Unless the idea is to give us all heart attacks, in which case they’re well on their way. All I need is a good jump scare.”

 

“Don’t tempt me,” Pidge warned.

 

“Child I _will_ shoot you,” Lance retorted.

 

Pidge snickered.

 

“Whoa,” Hunk said. “You guys should see the lab they’ve got on this ship. It’s right out of some mad scientist thing. Giant test tubes of weird liquid and lots of computers.”

 

The results finally pinged on Keith’s scanner. Dread coiled in his stomach. It was blood, like he feared, from an alien species he didn’t recognize.

 

“Guys, I’ve got blood over here,” Keith said. “No idea what caused it or where whoever was bleeding went.” It wasn’t really a lot of blood, so the person could have walked off and gotten help, or been evacuated with the rest of the missing crew.

 

_Why_ the crew would need to evacuate an otherwise perfectly functioning ship was a question Keith didn’t particularly want the answer to.

 

“Oh quiznak I so didn’t want to hear that,” Lance said.

 

“Stay calm,” Shiro said. “Let’s meet up with each other and continue searching in a group until we know what we’re dealing with.”

 

Keith gladly walked back into the hall.

 

“Are we even dealing with anything?” Pidge asked. “I’ve run the bio scanner a dozen times. It’s only picking up the five of us.”

 

“I at least want to get to the bridge and study the beacon,” Shiro said.

 

That would be fair enough. Find out for sure that it was just a lousy fuse or whatever and then get the hell out of here. Keith could get behind that.

 

He took two more steps before the backup lights cut out, leaving him in darkness. He froze.

 

“Uh…did the lights cut out in any other part of the ship?” Keith asked.

 

“What? No,” Hunk asked. “At least, not here.”

 

“I’m still good,” Pidge said.

 

“Same,” Lance agreed.

 

“I’m alright. Is anything else happening?” Shiro asked.

 

“No…I just can’t see.” He took a deep breath. He should not be this scared. It was just dark. No big deal.

 

That didn’t stop his heart from racing.

 

“There’s got to be a way to get night vision with these visors, give me a minute,” Pidge said.

 

Keith held out his hands and shuffled forward. The hall was straight, and he’d come to a turn eventually. This was fine. He could do this. If the whole ship wasn’t in darkness, then there’d be light somewhere to guide him in the right direction.

 

He was fine.

 

“I knew there was something bad on this ship why don’t you people ever listen to me about these things,” Hunk said. “It’s going to hunt us down one by one and it’s starting with Keith!”

 

“Hunk, calm down,” Keith said. “I’m fine.”

 

If he said it enough, maybe he’d believe it.

 

“Right, right, deep breaths, it’s just an old ship with creepy lab stuff and unknown blood and probably some crazy escaped experiment that’s going to kill us all, no big deal,” Hunk said.

 

“Hunk!” Lance yelled. “Not helping.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Ah, Hell was back to normal. Keith disagreed with Lance again. Hunk’s rambling was giving Keith something else to focus on, which was calming him down.

 

Or at least, it had been, until he heard the scratching.

 

Keith froze again. The scratching stopped. He looked around, listening. The scratches started again, slower.

 

He summoned his bayard.

 

Just when he registered that the scratches had stopped, something landed on his head.

 

He screamed. Whatever attacked him clawed at his helmet uselessly.

 

“Keith? Keith what’s wrong?” Shiro asked.

 

Keith was a little too busy to figure out a proper response. He grabbed at the creature and tried to pry it off, he tried to hack at the thing or stab it, but the angle was awkward and all he did was make it mad. It shrieked in his ear.

 

“ _What the Quiznak was that_?” Lance demanded.

 

“We’re not alone!” Keith managed.

 

The thing scrambled over him, starting to claw at his face now. It wasn’t leaving deep cuts, but Keith still had long scratches gouging his cheeks and chin. And then it managed to hook a claw under his visor and yanked, tearing his helmet right off Keith’s head.

 

The helmet went flying, clattering on the ground somewhere out of sight.

 

Keith dug his fingers into the creature and yanked, tearing it off and throwing it to the ground. It hissed at him, two beady yellow eyes narrowing in a glare. And then the eyes were gone, the creature disappearing in the dark.

 

He kept his bayard up and activated his shield. To his surprise, the shield actually glowed. It didn’t give him much light, but it was better than nothing. It also provided the perfect barrier when the creature lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

 

And through it, Keith got his first real look at it.

 

Its mouth went diagonally across the middle of its head, rows and rows of sharp teeth dripping with foamy saliva. Its skin was a pale grey, wrapped tightly around the bones underneath. It could almost be some freak human, if not for the extra leg and the way its torso twisted in on itself. One eye was above the mouth, and the other was below. It reeked of rotting meat.

 

It scratched at his shield and hissed again before dashing out of sight.

 

Keith blinked and forced himself to breathe. He sat up, shield raised and ready.

 

It pounced on him from behind and bit down on his shoulder. He lashed out with his bayard. It jumped off and disappeared again. He stumbled back into the wall, bayard and shield up and shaking. He glanced at his shoulder; that thing’s teeth had barely scratched his armor, thank quiznak, but it was fast. Even when he could see it, he could barely keep track of it.

 

He needed backup. He needed to find his helmet and get the hell out of here and get off this quiznaking ship--

 

It launched itself at his arm, the one holding his bayard. With its head angled, its huge mouth could chomp down on his entire forearm.

 

Keith yelped and slammed his arm back against the wall. It growled and used his arm to lift itself and pounce at his face again. He swatted with his shield hand, knocking it into the wall. It stuck there, like it was made of glue. Then it hissed again, rotated both shoulders and hips, and crawled up the wall to the ceiling, still glaring at him.

 

Just what the hell was this thing?

 

It skittered off on the ceiling, claws scratching against the metal, and disappeared again. Keith swung in a circle, waving his shield around to throw the light as far as he could. His heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t see it.

 

He swallowed and took a step back in the direction he thought his helmet had gone.

 

Still nothing.

 

He took another step.

 

It dropped from the ceiling and landed on his shield, swiping long claws over Keith’s face. He twisted out of the way, but not quite far enough. Pain spread from his left cheek to his forehead, barely missing his eye.

 

Not that he had time to deal with pain. The thing’s mouth was coming at him.

 

He deactivated his shield, dropping the creature on the ground, and jumped back, slashing with his bayard. He missed. The thing hissed and scrambled over the floor. Keith lost track of it.

 

He brought his shield back and hunched behind it, turning in slow circles.

 

Quiznak where did it go now?

 

He glanced up at the ceiling just in time to see it pounce on him. He caught it on his shield and twisted towards the ground, bringing his bayard around to chop through its neck.

 

It was like cutting the food goo. His blade went right through, lodging in the floor.

 

The head rolled away. The body still twitched, hands searching where its head once was.

 

Keith stepped back and took a deep breath. That had been absolutely terrifying. He never wanted to do that again.

 

Why was the thing still moving?

 

Not just moving, it deliberately walked over to its fallen head and picked it up.

 

Keith stopped breathing.

 

It lifted its head to its neck and placed its head back on its shoulders.

 

Keith’s eyes widened. That just wasn’t _fair_.

 

It rolled its head, neck cracking as the bone slotted back together, and then its eyes stopped on Keith. It shrieked and lunged forward.

 

Keith shrieked even louder, turning and bolting blindly down the hall. Screw his helmet, screw staying and fighting, he was getting the hell out of there.

 

If cutting the quiznaking thing’s head off didn’t kill it then how the quiznak was he supposed to kill it?

 

He slammed into a wall, turned right and ran until he did the same thing again. But this time, there was a dull green light off to his left. He sprinted for it.

 

Scratches followed him the whole way.

 

Turning another corner, he was blessed to find the backup lights on and functional. He didn’t even register the scratches fading, just kept running and turning corners. He eventually came to a dead end with a door, and when he pried it open it was an elevator shaft. The elevator was who knew where.

 

Keith didn’t feel like asking questions. He jumped down, slowing his descent with his jetpack until finding a floor. He pried those doors open and tumbled out into a blessedly empty hall.

 

He took a moment to just breathe.

 

His body trembled. His face hurt. A lot.

 

Something made a noise around the corner.

 

Keith was back on his feet in an instant, bayard up and ready. He moved to the corner, pressing up against the wall.

 

The sound was definitely coming closer.

 

Keith shifted his grip. _Come on you son of a quiznak. I’m not going down without a fight._

 

The sound grew. He took a breath and focused. Another second…now!

 

He spun and slashed down with his sword. It clanged against Shiro’s arm.

 

Keith froze, bayard still against Shiro’s arm, and blinked. “S-Shiro?” He glanced between his bayard and Shiro’s stunned face, and then he deactivated the bayard and dropped it. His hand shook.

 

“Keith! Are you okay? What happened?” Shiro’s hands were on him, one on his shoulder and the other lightly skimming over his face. “God, your face…”

 

“There’s something on this ship,” Keith said, knocking Shiro’s hand away. “We need to get out of here. I cut off the damn thing’s head and it just put it back on and kept going!”

 

That image was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

 

“Okay, okay, breathe,” Shiro said. “Guys? I’ve got Keith. What’s everyone’s status?”

 

Shiro picked up Keith’s bayard and handed it to him, and then steered him back down the hall. His hand never left Keith’s shoulder.

 

Keith didn’t stop trembling. He kept his bayard in his hand.

 

“He’s a little scratched up, but he’s okay,” Shiro said. “The thing that attacked him is still out there though, so be careful. Keith says he decapitated it and it kept going.”

 

The disbelieving shouting was audible even to Keith, and he wasn’t wearing his helmet.

 

“Lance has your helmet,” Shiro said.

 

“He’s up there?” Keith demanded. “Alone?”

 

“Pidge got the night vision on the helmets working,” Shiro said.

 

Okay, so Lance would at least be able to see the thing, and maybe he could shoot it and keep it at a distance. But that creature was wicked fast. Keith’s stomach twisted into knots thinking of Lance dealing with it alone.

 

“Tell him to get out of there, now,” Keith said.

 

“He’s about to meet up with Hunk,” Shiro said.

 

The knot in Keith’s stomach dropped like a weight. He clung to Shiro’s arm. “Get them out of there!” The thought of any of his friends facing off against that…that _thing_ …

 

Shiro stopped walking and turned to face Keith, putting his other hand on Keith’s other shoulder. “They’re going to be fine. We’re all heading back, everyone is accounted for. I need you to calm down. Deep breaths.”

 

Keith slapped Shiro’s hands away. “I’ll breathe when we leave that thing in a black hole.”

 

“Well there aren’t any for several quadrants,” Pidge said, appearing behind Keith like some kind of ghost.

 

Only Shiro grabbing hold of his sword arm stopped him from accidentally decapitating her.

 

Pidge stared at his activated bayard while she kept talking. “So unless you want to physically push this ship that far, our best course of action is to just leave it.”

 

Keith deactivated his bayard and Shiro slipped it out of Keith’s hand.

 

“Hunk and Lance are also running for the lions, by the way. You have completely freaked them out,” Pidge said, grinning.

 

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “As long as they’re safe. Come on.”

 

They hurried through the halls themselves. Keith had never been so jumpy in his life. Every bump and creak of the old ship startled him, and he almost wanted his bayard back. But he didn’t want to accidentally skewer his teammates if they startled him again, so he let Shiro hold on to it.

 

Hunk and Lance were waiting by the airlock they had come in with their bayards ready, guarding their exit.

 

“Nice face,” Lance said, unclipping Keith’s helmet from his belt and tossing it over to him.

 

“Thanks,” Keith said. The scratches didn’t sting that badly yet, but he was sure that was because of the adrenaline.

 

“So we can go now, right?” Hunk said. He was the only other person who looked as jumpy as Keith. “We’ve determined the only living thing on this ship is that freak of nature that attacked Keith and we don’t need to help it?”

 

“Yeah, we definitely don’t need to help it,” Shiro said. “Let’s go.”

 

They’d come in two lions, Green and Black, and they were quick to jump back out into the lions and head back to the castle.

 

Keith watched the ship get smaller on the monitor in Black’s cockpit, adrenaline fading. He might be safe now, but it still felt like that thing could drop from the ceiling again at any moment.

 

It had lived who knew how long on an abandoned ship with no supplies. Cutting its head off didn’t kill it.

 

Who was to say it couldn’t follow them out into space?


End file.
